JBL Synthesis East Coast Dealer Seminars and Product Demonstrations

24 March 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WOODBURY, NY — JBL, the leading manufacturer of professional and consumer loudspeakers, recently conducted a series of seminars to educate dealers about its latest JBL Synthesis products and systems for the custom-installation home theater market. The seminars, which took place March 3 and 4 at the Sheraton Newark Airport Hotel in Newark, New Jersey, focused on the capabilities and benefits of JBL’s high-end Synthesis systems, and the methods used for maximum performance in a broad range of installation applications.

In addition, the seminars included active demonstrations of a complete 7.1-channel Synthesis home theater system, as well as the company’s flagship JBL K2 S9800 ultra-high-end loudspeakers. The demonstrations were among the first to feature the Synthesis SDP-5 System Controller/Digital Processor, a THX Ultra2-certified home theater/multizone control center engineered to deliver state-of-the-art sound quality and exceptional operational versatility.

Paul Bente, president of JBL Consumer Products, noted: “JBL recognized and targeted the specialized requirements of the custom-installation home theater market right from the beginning with the launch of its Synthesis division 11 years ago — and today, JBL Synthesis is dedicating itself more than ever to meeting the needs of custom-installation professionals and their most discriminating customers.”

Bente continued, “Manufacturing superlative products is only the beginning of our commitment to the custom-installation market, which has become an important growth area for JBL as a company as well as for the consumer electronics industry. We are equally determined to offer the highest levels of dealer training, customer service and installation support to assure that our customers enjoy the ultimate performance from their JBL Synthesis systems. Such commitment isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.”

More than 80 industry professionals attended the seminars, which were conducted by Chris Neumann, director of sales and marketing of JBL Synthesis, and Orion Hopper of Audio Associates, a key JBL Synthesis representative located in Piscataway, New Jersey. Audio Associates also worked closely with JBL to set up and fine-tune the systems.

The seminars covered a wide range of topics, with an emphasis on the capability of every JBL Synthesis system to be precisely optimized to its listening environment. A key element in the performance of every Synthesis installation is the SDEC2500A Digital Equalizer, a state-of-the-art digital audio processor that maximizes the performance of a multi-channel Synthesis home entertainment system in any room by the application of ultra-precise 83-band equalization and leading-edge DSP technologies. The SDEC2500A is used in conjunction with JBL’s exclusive Digital Acoustic Calibration System (DACS), which allows Synthesis owners to literally custom-fit the sound of a system to the room in which it is installed.

The seminars also discussed recent research findings from JBL’s Northridge, California, research-and-development facility indicating that the use of more than one subwoofer in a room yields far smoother and more accurate low-frequency response, with greatly reduced room-mode irregularities, than typical single-subwoofer installations. All Synthesis packages include a minimum of two subwoofers to take advantage of the sonic improvements provided by multiple-subwoofer implementation.

Another discussion topic noted the advantages of the auto-configurable surround loudspeakers used in Synthesis packages, which feature selectable dipole, bipole and direct-radiating dispersion modes, facilitating their use in a variety of surround-channel system configurations to deliver the best surround sound performance for both movie soundtracks and high-resolution multichannel music discs.

The seminars covered a number of additional areas, and provided an overview of the 2004 JBL Synthesis product lineup, including the recently introduced SDP-5, a state-of-the-art, software-upgradeable 7.1-channel preamplifier/processor that utilizes the most advanced digital technologies to achieve the highest possible resolution and fidelity. The SDP-5 is compatible with all popular surround sound decoding formats and incorporates Harman International’s exclusive 7.1 Logic 7 processing for enhanced surround-sound realism. Along with extraordinary audio performance, the software-upgradeable SDP-5 offers exceptional connectivity, including high-bandwidth, HDTV-compatible component-video switching, along with multiroom flexibility.

The loudspeaker complement for the THX Ultra-certified Synthesis multichannel system used in the demonstrations included two S3VC vertical main channel left and right front loudspeakers, an S3HC center channel loudspeaker, four S2A dipole-radiating surround-channel loudspeakers and four HTPS-400 12-inch, 1000-watt powered subwoofers. The system’s electronics comprised the SDP-5 digital surround processor/system controller, plus the SDEC2500A digital equalizer and an S7150 7-channel x 160-watt power amplifier. An additional S800 200-watt-per-channel power amplifier was employed to drive the K2 S9800 loudspeakers in a stereo configuration for music listening.

JBL Synthesis systems are available exclusively from authorized JBL Synthesis dealers, all of which are systems integration specialists. The turnkey systems are installed and calibrated by the installing dealer using a calibration kit that includes JBL’s proprietary DACS software and equipment and measurement microphones, and that interfaces with the SDEC2500A digital equalizer and computes the necessary corrections for accurate in-room frequency response. JBL Synthesis systems are covered by a two-year limited warranty for electronics, and a five-year limited warranty for loudspeakers, and are backed up with a domestic 48-hour “no downtime” guarantee.

JBL Synthesis systems are currently installed at Warner Bros. and ABC Television, in Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center, and in many additional professional and consumer installations.

The Harman Consumer Systems Group (HCSG) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a wide range of high-fidelity loudspeakers, audio and video components, and multimedia systems for use in homes and automobiles, and with computers. The group’s brands include JBL, Infinity, Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson, Revel, Audioaccess and Lexicon.

HCSG is a division of Harman International Industries, Incorporated. Harman International (www.harman.com) is a leading manufacturer of high-quality, high-fidelity audio products and electronic systems for the consumer and professional markets. The company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “HAR.”